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Dina Gardner
I Ain t Nobody s Bargain - Expressionist Pastel Man Portrait

2025

$375
£284.78
€327.16
CA$528.66
A$562.08
CHF 303.95
MX$6,686.07
NOK 3,807.46
SEK 3,477.34
DKK 2,443.99

About the Item

I Ain't Nobody's Bargain 8.0 x 8.0 x 1.0, 3.0 lbs Pastel on wood Stamped, digitally signed Artist's Commentary: "I'm having the best time with these very loose expressionist portraits! This painting, 'I Ain't Nobody's Bargain' is the third in the series. I was listening to Springsteen's album Human Touch when this line was sung and I knew it was the right title for this piece. I love how raw these pieces are and how different they are from the pieces I usually paint. I really enjoy exploring new mediums and genres. Some are very short lived, some become my main body of work and others pop in for guest appearances from time to time. I once had a teacher tell me I needed to pick a lane, to paint the same subject matter and use my mark making the same way in every painting so that when ever anyone saw a piece they would immediately know it was mine. I'm so glad I didn't listen to her." About the Artist: Dina Gardner has always been fascinated by how artists, whether they are painters, musicians, writers or anyone with artistic gifts, work through their creative process. She is fascinated that the process of 'creating' is different for every artist, regardless of their medium. Her process for painting with pastels starts with music and her musical taste is wide and varied. Once the music is on in her studio, there is a lot of singing and dancing (neither done particularly well) that happens while she paints. She usually works from a photograph which she sketches on a sanded piece of pastel paper. She take a lot of creative license, often adding or deleting objects in the photograph. Dina’s first layer, commonly referred to as the underpainting, is applied in dry pastel and then washed down with a paintbrush dipped in alcohol. Once this layer dries, she lays down layer upon layer of pastel, often letting the original underpainting peek through. Once in a while there are happy accidents. Sometimes there are tragic outcomes. But all the time she is grateful that she found this creative outlet at this stage off her life. Dina’s paintings reflect objects she is drawn to: oceans and water, skies and clouds, trees, rock formations, marshes and meadows. When she paints from a photo reference or even when painting plein air, she is not painting what the subject looks like but rather what her response is to the subject. Dina splits her time between Boston, MA, where she has lived for more than 40 years and her home in Manhattan Beach, CA, close to where she was raised. Both places provide her with inspiration and untold amounts of visual stimulation. Dina’s goal is to capture the beauty she observes around her and to express that beauty through her paintings.
  • Creator:
    Dina Gardner (1962, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2025
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Boston, MA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1518161stDibs: LU1634217517322

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